The present invention relates to a rubber composition suitable for use in various grips, e.g., grips of golf clubs, grips of tennis rackets, grips to be attached to handlebars of bicycles, motorcycles or cultivators, and grips to be attached to tools such as hammers, and also relates to a grip prepared from the composition.
In general, as the properties to be required for grips, it is important that they are not slippery and have a good feeling of touch. In case of grips of golf clubs, it is also one of important properties required that they give a good response to mis-shot.
Grips which have been conventionally used are those made of leathers or those made of rubbers, for example, those made from rubber compositions containing, as a base rubber, natural rubber alone or a blend of natural rubber and a styrene-butadiene rubber, and a filler such as silicon oxide, carbon or magnesium carbonate.
However, these grips only satisfies the non-slipping requirement to some extent, and the feeling of touch and the response to mis-shot are not always satisfactory.
For example, grips made of leathers have a good feeling of touch. However, if they once get wet as a result of use in a rainy day, hardening of leathers is marked and the grips lose their original good feeling of touch, thus resulting in very poor feeling of touch. Grips made from rubber compositions containing natural rubber or a blend of natural rubber and SBR deteriorate with the lapse of time. Thus, the feeling of touch and the response to mis-shot become worse, and the abrasion resistance is also decreased.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a rubber composition suitable for preparing grips used in various articles.
Another object of the present invention is to provide grips having a good non-slipping property, a good feeling of touch and a good response to mis-shot of golf balls.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the description hereinafter.